Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 July 28

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July 28

How does Facebook find all these suggested friends?

I hardly ever use Facebook, and I only have a few "friends," all people I knew from a particular past workplace. But somehow, under "Suggestions," Facebook knows the names of all of these real-life friends, relatives and former work colleagues, none of whom has anything to do with the few Facebook friends I have. How in the world does Facebook know that I am connected to all of these people? Some of them I haven't heard from for years! Even my stepfather's ex-wife is a "suggestion!" -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:35, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

It looks through your e-mail contact list, for one. You can set it so it doesn't do that anymore, though. It also looks through all your friends, and gives you people that at least two of your friends know, even if you don't know them that well, or at all. Adam Bishop (talk) 01:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

My e-mail contact list only has relatives and a few friends on it. It certainly doesn't have people I went to college with, and none of my existing Facebook friends are even in this country. Yet somehow, those former classmates are among my "suggestions." Really weird. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:56, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Have you joined any Facebook groups, like "Such-and-such College Class of 2000" or whatever? Adam Bishop (talk) 02:07, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Not that I know of... -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:04, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

It also uses a lot of "friends of friends". If there's someone out there who is a facebook friend of like 10 of your other facebook friends, but NOT one of your facebook friends, then you likely know them... --Jayron32 03:21, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Not to belabor the point, but the only Facebook friends I had were people with whom I worked overseas -- none of them would be friends with my relatives, college classmates or American colleagues. There must be something else up here. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:27, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

At a guess, I'd say it looked at your email account's contact list, found your stepfather had a facebook account and from his contacts/friends it suggested his ex-wife to you. The same would apply if one of your email contacts knew some people at your college. Astronaut (talk) 04:27, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

College friends is easily explained if you've listed your college in your profile, or joined a related network when you signed up. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 05:41, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Do these people have your email address? Possibly that could explain it. Exploding Boy (talk) 06:13, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Facebook has never asked me whether I want it to look at my e-mail contacts and if it does that I regard it as an invasion. Judging by the friends that Facebook has suggested to me, I think it harvests names from Yahoo groups. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 08:21, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Facebook asks for member's e-mail log-in info and then harvests the address books. It does so in a way that looks friendly and fun even though it is a bit invasive for everyone involved and VERY bad security practices. Anyway, the odds are, if you didn't let them do that, somebody else you know did. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 14:06, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

I thought they looked first at your friends' list of friends, and then at the groups you have joined, and the address books if they're uploaded. I've worked through the people I sorta know and now Fb recommends people I haven't heard of. Of course, it could just be a coincidence that your stepfather's ex-wife has been recommended... —Preceding unsigned comment added by TammyMoet (talk • contribs) 15:32, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Hmm on mine it occasionally comes up with a random one from my school/program/year, but more often I think it is doing it through email. My best guess would be that your friends have you in their address book and it searched through that and found you, displaying "suggested friend" to both you and them. TastyCakes (talk) 15:40, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

From facebook's own help section -

"Facebook calculates Suggestions based on the networks you are a part of, mutual friends, work and education information, contacts imported using the Friend Finder, and many other factors." Nanonic (talk) 15:43, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

I never told Facebook where I went to school or where I worked. Here's the only thing I can imagine: It has found my e-mail address in the contact list of other Facebook users, then used those people's contacts to find more suggestions for me. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 17:02, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

While that's definitely possible, are you sure that there was no connection to your American life at all? I emphasised the 'at all' part for a reason, as it may not need much. For example, even an invitation from one of your American college friends, particularly if they put you as a college friend may be enough for it go guess other college friends could also be your friends. Similarly if one of your siblings, parents or whatever invited you, it's probably easy for it to guess that you may know your stepfathers's ex-wife if it can guess that relationship from the relationships of those around you. Or even if it's not an invitation but a suggestion from another friend or if one of your overseas friends did somehow establish that relationship via their friends page. Location info may help too as may age if you put that. In your case, since you had few Facebook friends, its 'guesses' rely on less info then is ideal but it can still be easily right depending on the info (and if it wasn't right, you probably wouldn't be asking). Nil Einne (talk) 00:23, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Questions

Please do not put unrelated questions under a single heading. Headings added below --ColinFine (talk) 07:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Copyright in UK

1. How close to a copyrighted name can another name be before it is a breach of copyright laws (In the UK)? Chevymontecarlo (talk) 07:24, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Have you looked at copyright? See also trademark, which might be more relevant. --ColinFine (talk) 07:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

To expand on the above, note that you cannot copyright a name[1]; you can infringe a trademark by using someone else's business name or brand name, which is why trademark is relevant. How close your name can be to an existing trademark generally depends on whether the two are in similar lines of business, or are likely to confuse customers, but if you have a specific legal question you should consult a lawyer. --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 09:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

If you write a computer operating system and call it "Chevymontecarlo Windows" - you'll get sued by Microsoft for sure. If you start a business assembling glass into wood and aluminium frames and call your business "Chevymontecarlo Windows" you'll be just fine. SteveBaker (talk) 13:33, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Steve is right about his latter point in almost all cases, but I wouldn't bet that you wouldn't be sued over "Chevymontecarlo Windows" as a window maker business. Some companies have successfully claimed that their very-recognized, cultural-institution-level trademark is so unique that it's universal. McDonalds has sued many companies that have inserted "Mc" in front of another noun, claiming that doing so is "McLanguage" and is protected. They successfully used (or abused) trademark law to prevent Quality Inn from creating a chain called McSleep, for example, though that business has little to do with fast food. Tempshill (talk) 17:25, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

The motel you go to when you just want to think you're sleeping> -KoolerStill (talk) 13:08, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

In the case of a dictionary word that is used in its everyday meaning, you are probably alright, though. --Tango (talk) 00:02, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

And depending on the exact wording and the original trademark, you could even be sued for using your own name! --Zerozal (talk) 16:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

General Motors

2. Does anyone know about the future of General Motors? Chevymontecarlo (talk) 07:24, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a crystal ball, and the reference desks are for factual questions, not speculation. --ColinFine (talk) 07:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Sorry......Chevymontecarlo (talk) 08:12, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

No one can predict the future about anything. GM has a plan to revitalize itself. I'm sure there are endless sources discussing it. As to their actual future, only this much is certain: Their future is ahead of them. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 08:58, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Creosote

3. Why is creosote, the stuff you put on wood to protect it, so dangerous? Chevymontecarlo (talk) 07:24, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Have you looked at creosote? --ColinFine (talk) 07:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

I'm looking for a picture of the world's greatest gunsmiths.

I'm looking for a picture taken, at some kind of convention, of Uziel Gal, Mikhail Kalashnikov, and Eugene Stoner. It was the only time the three were ever together. I had figured that this pic would be famous, but it's more of a challenge to find then I thought. I'm looking for the picture but I appreciate information as well (date, name, location ect.). —Preceding unsigned comment added by HitmanNumber86 (talk • contribs) 13:43, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

I wasn't able to find all three together, but this site has a photo of Gal and Kalashnikov together, and another photo of Kalashnikov and Stoner together. --Zerozal (talk) 16:56, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

"World's greatest?" What about Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 17:26, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Samuel Colt might beg to differ had he been asked, but like Messrs Smith and Wesson, he wasn't in a position to be photographed with Messrs Gal, Kalashnikov and Stoner. —— Shakescene (talk) 20:44, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Was John Browning there?Edison (talk) 01:37, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

I heard John T. Thompson was (I don't think this is old yet). By the way, anyone else catch the OP's name's very subtle reference? Shadowjams (talk) 07:20, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

human resource

hi! i've been given an assignment to write a letter to the head of a human resource department for a job. so ,please could anyone tell me what should be my qualifications and job experience? i've totally NIL idea about job qualifications and educational degrees. puleez help me!!

NOTE: as i'm an indian, the job qualifications must be indian too! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.50.130.82 (talk) 13:50, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Suggest that you do not try to pretend to be qualified or experienced. Better to write from your own experience. Why should this not be your first job on leaving school? Then you can apply for a trainee's post and show how eager you are to make a career from helping people. Make up voluntary work with youth, and/or elderly. Where you can show a tangible interest in people (HR is all about people!). Indicate your preferred route, i.e. into training, selection, whatever. And show why you think that route is best for you. Above all show clearly what benefits you will bring to him - not what you expect to gain.86.219.167.229 (talk)DT —Preceding undated comment added 14:04, 28 July 2009 (UTC).

As 86 said, when students (at least in the US) are taught in the 11th or 12th year of school to write a résumé, the usual advice for the "job experience" section is to try to list "extracurricular activities" that involved some kind of work under the direction of a teacher. Volunteer work counts, like "Helped create a 2 km walking path near the Main Street Marsh, working for 1 month with a team of 10 other volunteer students". Any kind of self-taught skills may do, if you can point to a project you completed, like "Designed, planned, and built a 3-square-meter tree house in my back yard, complete with roof, shingles, door, and a balcony," or "Designed and programmed the game 'Cliff Jumper' over 4 months along with another programmer and artist." Tempshill (talk) 17:10, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Oh - if you google "resume" there are many, many sample resumes available you can utilize when figuring out what format to use. Tempshill (talk) 17:15, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Is your assignment to write an application for a fictional job-seeker to a fictional company? —Tamfang (talk) 08:33, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Book release date:

I bought a non-fiction book off the shelf at a major bookstore. After I got home, I checked online to see book reviews for it. However, all sources say that this book is to be released on a date in August still a few weeks away. There are no reviews even posted yet. So I'm wondering, am I allowed to have this book? Will I get in trouble for owning it before the release date? Will the bookstore get in trouble? Please help as I am worried sick over it. Torkmann (talk) 16:01, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

For highly anticipated books like Harry Potter and the like, books are supposed to be released to the public on coordinated "release dates" for the express purpose of generating buzz. Book sellers are under contract to NOT release the book early, less they lose the right to sell the book at all. However, for most average books, they probably go on the shelves as soon as they arrive at the bookstore. While they may have "official" or "anticipated" release dates, most of the time there is little fanfare or notice when they come out; and no reason for the store to "hold them back" so they just put them out. --Jayron32 16:30, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Check also if it is a "review copy". They generally say so somewhere. They are not supposed to be resold, but they often are. In any case, you wouldn't get in trouble for owning it, though technically a store could get in trouble for selling it, if reported. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 17:04, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

You have done nothing wrong and broken no laws, as far as I know. One possibility is that the publisher reported the for-sale date to everyone as being in August but then shipped the book early and the reviewers were caught by surprise? Tempshill (talk) 17:12, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

If a store sells you something, it's their problem, not yours, unless it's something obviously illegal to sell under any circumstances - although it might be wise to be discrete, at least until it's "officially" for sale. Unless you want to go to someplace anonymously (oh, say, wikipedia, for example) and give away the plot. >:) No, better not. 0:) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 07:38, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Really better not. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 12:05, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

As others have indicated, a new book usually has a specified publication date, and the contract of sale by which the publisher supplies the bookshop will normally specify that the book is "embargoed" from sale before that date; the main purpose of this is to enable marketing efforts such as media adverts, author interviews, etc to be co-ordinated for maximum effect. Publishers routinely supply books to bookshops up to several weeks before publication date, simply because of the logistics involved in doing so on a national or international scale, and because the bookshops need advance supply to enable them to cope with the hundreds if not thousands of such titles every month, plan their displays, and so on. They should be well practiced in avoiding mistakes, though inevitably mistakes sometimes occur.

This embargo system was generally complied with in the UK (where I used to be a bookseller and later a publisher's editor) for all books at least up until the 1980s, and some shops which religiously abided by publication dates would actually monitor rivals and report any that broke embargos (whether through ignorance, incompetence, or deliberately in order to gain an unfair trading advantage) to the relevant publishers, who might threaten egregious offenders with lower trade discounts or refusal of supply - sanctions which became less enforcible with the rise of the wholesale suppliers from around the early '80s. Outlets such as supermarkets and the likes of W. H. Smith have been known to ignore publication embargoes with relative impunity because their centralised buying structures and large share of total sales give them disproportionate clout.

When a vendor sells an embargoed book to a customer, only the vendor is committing any offence (a breach of its contract with the publisher). The buyer has not made any such contractual agreement, is entirely innocent of any offence, and is still the legal owner of the book. Though in the wrong, the vendor is unlikely to suffer any consequences (in the case of a one-off error, how does anyone but themselves and the buyer know of the transaction?) except in very exceptional circumstances.

What circumstances? Occasionally a book is withdrawn from publication after copies have reached the bookshops, but before its publication date has been reached, and the bookshops are supposed to return (for credit) all such copies. Withdrawal might be due to the discovery of a previously overlooked serious printing or binding error, in which case no-one but the unfortunate buyer will mind very much if a copy has already been sold (and he/she will be able to exchange it for a corrected copy or for credit). However, it might be for legal reasons: an example I personally experienced concerned the novel The Girl in a Swing by Richard Adams (best known for Watership Down), which was withdrawn only a few days before its (first) publication date because of a libel action - it portrayed unsympathetically a character based on and identifiable with an actual person, and was later republished with textual alterations. A few copies of the original version had been naughtily sold "under the counter" before publication (one, possibly, from the shop I worked in) and there could have been legal ramifications. In some regimes, withdrawal of a book due to official State disapproval (on grounds of obscenity, blasphemy, being rude about the President-for-Life, etc) could presumably also rebound on any premature retailing; hopefully this does not apply to OP Torkmann's case.

Mention was made of review copies. Potential reviewers are sent free copies of books well in advance, in order of course that they have time to read and review them and get the review into print at or around publication date: such review copies might be advance proofs in non-commercial bindings, or might be the ordinary commercial editions. Reviewing being mostly poorly paid, they are expected and usually explicitly permitted to sell on their ordinary editions to supplement their incomes, but of course such copies should not be sold on to the general public before the publication date. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 01:52, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like the best bet, if you buy a book under those circumstances, is to just keep quiet about it. Then, years later, when likely no one will care, it could become a souvenir, maybe even a valuable one. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 06:26, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't you could get in trouble just for buying something. If anyone, I think the issue would be with the bookstore. Hence, you might want to keep your receipt to show you got it from them and didn't steal it or anything sketchy. ZS 06:50, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Facebook friend requests

I regularly get facebook friend requests even though I do not have a facebook account. What is going on? Torkmann (talk) 16:33, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

If they are from people who you actually know, it's because your friends have either actually typed your e-mail address into Facebook in order to ask Facebook to send you these e-mails. More likely, they used an option where they type their e-mail account name and password into Facebook, and gave Facebook permission to scour their entire Contacts list; Facebook sends an invite to each person in the Contacts list. Alternatively, these e-mails may be phishing attempts, so, as with all e-mails inviting you to visit a website, you should just type the correct URL into your browser instead of clicking on the link. (See Facebook#Phishing for one particular stunt, though that one was aimed at current users.) Tempshill (talk) 17:01, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

How can you disable this option on Facebook?--Reticuli88 (talk) 16:06, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

If you want to stop getting Facebook e-mails, I would create a Facebook account under your actual e-mail address, then click "Settings" at the top of the screen, then "Account Settings" on the dropdown menu, then click the "Notifications" tab. There will be a long list of actions and you can set whether or not Facebook will e-mail you when each action is taken. (Examples: Someone adds me as a friend, someone sends me a message, someone invites me to join a group.) You can turn them all "Off". Alternatively, of course, you could just set up a filter in your e-mail program to delete any e-mail coming from "facebook.com". Tempshill (talk) 19:14, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

It's a sad day of spammer-victory when the best way to make the spam stop is to register with the spammer... I strongly recommend the OP sets up an email filter. Your computer or network administrator can help you do that if you don't know how your site filters spam (or if you use a free email service like Yahoo Mail, there is an email and spam filter option in the standard interface). This is a better way to eliminate unwanted mail. The way I learned about spam, (Spam Theory), the worst thing you can do is click an "unsubscribe" link or write a response. Acknowledging the spam puts you on the white-list of "known email addresses used by real humans" - this encourages the spammer to send more. (Eventually, if no response or acknowledgement ever comes through, a spammer will assume that your email address is dead, and may stop trying it). Facebook probably has a different policy than the usual total-junk-spammer, but I stand by my original idea here - your best bet is a block or mail filter on your end of the system (without registering). Nimur (talk) 05:49, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

One of your friends may also have created you a facebook account with your email. Googlemeister (talk) 16:36, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Detective stories

Many traditional detective stories end with the detective gathering the possible suspects together, and then dramatically revealing who did the deed and how the mystery has been solved.

Does/did this ever happen in real life? --rossb (talk) 16:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

It's known as the Final Dénouement, I believe. I don't know if any real-life cases of this; I'd be surprised if there were any, it's not a very practical approach (as is often revealed in fiction where the criminal tries to escape or kill someone or take a hostage or what have you). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 16:54, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

"Final Dénouement" is surprisingly generic; I'm accustomed to calling it the "parlor scene". (It's not only Poirot; Nero Wolfe usually tells Inspector Cramer, "If you want to know who done it, bring everyone concerned to my office," straining my suspension of disbelief.) —Tamfang (talk) 08:40, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - I doubt it happens. In the England and Wales, New Zealand, Australia, India, Pakistan and Canada, it could possibly even be construed to be illegal. Once someone is charged with a crime, it becomes Sub judice and the police aren't supposed to discuss it with the public. SteveBaker (talk) 17:34, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

In the quintessential drawing room mystery, the detective is very rarely a policeman, so that wouldn't come into play. --LarryMac | Talk 17:45, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

The sub judice restrictions apply to all public discussion, so amateur detectives, journalists and little old ladies can't comment. Gwinva (talk) 00:47, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Also quintessentially, nobody has been charged at that point. They're all invited into the same room, and Poirot or whoever reveals who did it and why, then the cops arrive, arrest the person and charge them. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:55, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

You missed out the confession just after the reveal. [2] AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 22:36, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

"I suppose you're wondering why I've called you all together here." Edison (talk) 01:33, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

"I think that Mrs Soames has something very important to tell us, don't you, Mrs Soames?" —— Shakescene (talk) 09:58, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

I have on occasion given in to the urge to say this in a crowded elevator. In my imagination, at least, it would be wonderful to have the elevator get stuck between the floors instantly after that. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 13:09, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

The typical detective mystery is about as realistic as Perry Mason convincing the murderer to confess in court. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 00:19, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

Amazon.com shirt sizes

What's the difference between "Men's large" and just "large", etc? Is it just because some sellers have unisex sizes and others don't? 24.6.46.177 (talk) 17:06, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Men's shirts are traditionally not the same as women's shirts. I was reminded of this a few year ago when I picked out a nice shirt at Banana Republic and grabbed a shirt I thought similar but of a different color. The "similar" shirt buttoned the wrong way and had girly pearl buttons. (Well, not exactly pearl, but pearloid, the faux pearl commonly known as "mother of toilet seat".) Current mores are more supportive of women wearing men's clothes than the other way around, and BR took this into account when I exchanged the shirt. PhGustaf (talk) 20:28, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Also women's shirts may be "fitted", i.e. designed to fit around breasts. I can't link to anything on WP about this, I'm afraid. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 22:32, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Does not saying men's mean it's a women's shirt? Ex: [3] Most of the men's sizes are sold out but the sizes with no gender are still available. 24.6.46.177 (talk) 22:47, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

No specified gender means it is unisex, which is basically the same as men's as far as the cut goes, but the sizes may be different. A medium unisex shirt will fit an average person, a medium men's shirt will fit an average man (which is larger). --Tango (talk) 00:11, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Amazon's sizing chart only mentions men and women sizes... —Akrabbim^talk 13:13, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

What board game is this?

It was a sort of war game, based on a square grid. The pieces had ranks 1-9 which determined what pieces they could beat, and the ranks were kept hidden from the other player until you attacked or got attacked. There was also a scout which could move more spaces than the other pieces, but it had to be revealed if you moved like that, and a spy which could take down the highest rank. 24.6.46.177 (talk) 19:28, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like Stratego. --LarryMac | Talk 19:30, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

I agree, that IS stratego. Torkmann (talk) 02:25, 30 July 2009 (UTC)